Don't Go It Alone
by QueenoftheWilderwest
Summary: Astrid Hofferson was the finest soldier in the royal guard until something happened and she was kicked out, losing her job and her honour. Now she's got to get revenge on those who wronged her. But when a boy she used to know falls from the sky, she finds herself less alone than she thought herself to be. Together, can they right the wrongs and win back Astrid's honour?
1. Chapter 1

It starts with a scream. And then a splash.

The girl is plodding by while it happens. With one hand, she grips her sword so tightly that her knuckles turn white. With the other, she clutches onto a bag that's slung casually over her shoulder. She's lost in her thoughts, stewing over something that happened in the big city. If you were to walk alongside her, you would hear her muttering furiously under her breath, using incoherent sentences, things like 'not my fault' and 'so unfair'. She's not paying attention to her surroundings. If she was; she would notice the land gradually sloping down and ending, dirt meeting water as a lake began.

When she hears the scream, she tenses. Her bag slips from her shoulder. Suddenly alert, she brings her sword up and bends her knees, textbook battle position.

When she sees the boy, she drops the sword and runs towards him.

The lake is deeper than it looks. The boy's head bobs up and down on the surface, his arms waving frantically up and down in the air. The girl hurries down and thinks nothing of wading out into the water, but by the time she reaches the boy, she's full on swimming. She takes a gulp of air before ducking down into the water, wrapping her arms around the boy, pulling him back to shore. She lays him out on the bank of dirt before dropping to the floor herself and lying beside him, taking deep breaths in.

"Thanks," the boy mumbles.

"Anytime."

She takes a moment to make sure her breathing is back to normal before assessing her surroundings. The lake is a lot bigger than she initially realized, a huge great circular mass of glittering blue water. Trees surround the edge, thick branches extending far above the water.

She shifts and turns over to look at the boy. There's something familiar about him. He's skinny and dressed in green cloth, a mop of reddish-brown hair covering his eyes. It takes her a few seconds, but after she's thought about it for a while, recognition dawns on her face.

"Hiccup?!"she says, her eyes widening as she looks upon a boy that she has not seen for years.

Hiccup's eyes snap open and he sits up sharply, something almost panicked in his actions. When he looks up at her, a similar look of familiarity settles on his face.

"Astrid?" he says, still breathing heavily.

"Yeah," she nods, reaching out to pull him up onto his feet. "C'mon. You're going to freeze. We gotta get a fire going."

She helps him climb back up the bank and back towards the path. On the way, she hoists her bag back onto her shoulder and picks up her sword, choosing to sheath it instead of holding it out like before. She offers an arm out to him to support him while they find a place to start a fire, but he shakes his head, able to walk fine himself.

"So what happened?" Astrid asks while they walk. "Did you just fall out of a tree or something?"

"Something like that."

* * *

><p>"Thought you were supposed to have gone and join the royal guard up in the big city," Hiccup says. "That's where they said you went when you disappeared five years ago."<p>

It's dark. They had walked for a short while before finding a shady patch of trees and a fallen log almost begging to be a seat. The fire flickers; sparks of light swirling into the air. Astrid follows them up with her eyes.

"Yeah," she says. "Things just… things just didn't work out."

She can feel Hiccup looking at her, expecting an explanation, but she doesn't deign to give him one. Instead she busies herself with taking her hair out of her braid and squeezing out, letting her damp hair rest loose on her shoulders. She stretches her legs out, warming her feet out by the fire. She's abandoned her boots, leaving them out by the side of the log, along with her bag and sword. Resting in the fire are two long sticks with the meat of a squirrel attached to each of them. Hiccup had grimaced at that, but Astrid had sternly reminded him that there would be nothing else for him to eat. Hiccup had frowned but made no actual complaint.

Astrid takes a bite of her squirrel, looking over at him while she chews. "So what are you doing here?" she asks, after swallowing. "We're miles and miles away from Berk."

Hiccup shrugs. "Things changed."

Astrid gives a small nod, accepting Hiccup's non-answer. After all, she had been just as cryptic about her actions.

The two sit there for a while, neither of them speaking while they finish their meal.

"Where are you heading?" Hiccup asks, breaking the silence.

Astrid gives a sigh, her tongue swirling across her lips before she answers. "I'm going to my grandparents' house. They died last year and left it to my mother and father, so it should be empty. There's… there's something I need to do there."

Hiccup looks confused at that, but he stays silent, keeping his questions to himself. Astrid appreciates that. The conversation fizzles out completely; she's run out of things she wants to say to Hiccup. Their only connection is their childhood – and Astrid doesn't want to talk about her childhood. It had been so long ago that the two had been residents of the tiny village of Berk. When she thinks about her time there, it doesn't even seem real; more like a dream than a distant memory.

She shifts around and settles on the log, resting her head in her hands. Behind her, she can feel Hiccup staring at her, almost as if his gaze is burning into her. For some reason, it bothers her, and she pointedly stands up and moves away from him, going to find a sleeping spot somewhere else.

Astrid is the first to wake, and when she sees Hiccup sleeping beside her, she scowls.

* * *

><p>"Look, it was nice catching up with you and all, but I really have to go it alone now," Astrid yells, not looking back at the boy behind her.<p>

She's stormed far off into the distance, her sword out of its sheath and in her hand. Hiccup struggles to catch up with her, his small legs not used to the pace Astrid is keeping. He has to run to catch up with her.

"There's something going on, Astrid," Hiccup pants, trying to get his breath back. "Isn't there? Something happened to you back in the city."

"Nice deduction," Astrid snaps. "Will you leave me alone now?"

In her head, she likens him to a mosquito, always buzzing around and being a nuisance. Since waking up that morning, he'd done nothing but stare at her. Even worse, when she'd got up to leave and made her goodbyes, he'd started following her, talking about how he wanted to go with her.

"Look, Astrid, if something bad has happened then you don't have to do it on your own. I could come with you. I could help-"

"I don't need your help," she says, through gritted teeth. "There's something I have to do, and I need to do it on my own."

Hiccup seems stymied by that, but it only lasts for a short while before he's bugging her again.

"I can help," he says again. "I can look after the house, I can find us food, you won't even notice-"

Astrid's patience wears thin, and she turns around sharply. Hiccup almost bumps into her.

"Do you not have somewhere else to be?" she says, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "Why are you making such a big deal about coming with me? I've told you, there are things I need to do, and I don't. Need. Company."

Astrid is practically spitting her words out by the end of her little speech, and Hiccup puts his hands in the air in surrender.

"_Okay_, okay," he says. "I don't actually have anywhere else to go or anywhere to stay. I thought maybe-"

"You thought wrong."

To her irritation, he doesn't stop following her. After turning around and yelling at him a few times, she gives up. _He can do what he wants_, she thinks_. Eventually he's going to give up_.

He's still following her when she arrives at her grandparents' house, and when she reaches the door, she makes a point of slamming it in his face.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Astrid finds him curled up outside the door, fast asleep.<p>

She gives a long sigh, raising her hands to the heavens before letting them hang loose at her sides. "I'm not going to win with this one, am I?" she mumbles to no one in particular.

Astrid takes a delicate step over him, making sure not to wake him up. She makes her way to the well, taking a bucket from the side and filling it to the brim with water. With something of a smile on her face, she tips the entire contents over Hiccup's head. He wakes with a start, shaking his head from side to side, water flying everywhere. _Like a dog_, Astrid thinks to herself.

"Here's the deal," Astrid says, standing close to the boy. She seems to tower above him when he looks up at her. "You can stay. There's a bed you can use. _If _you find food for the pair of us and keep the garden in shape and look after the house."

Hiccup's smile is wide and he nods eagerly, standing up almost too quickly, knocking over the bucket in his haste. Astrid sighs and mutters "Don't make me regret this," before turning around and heading to the stables.

The stables are empty; any horses that may have been there had been sold after the death of her grandparents. The place is a large and spacious, and Astrid figures that it is as good a place as any to train. She pulls up a stool and sits, resting her sword on the floor while she pulls out a stone from her bag, taking it to the edge of the sword and swiping across it, sharpening the blade. She keeps this up for a long time, getting lost in her work. After a while, she feels Hiccup's gaze on her from the entrance to the stables.

"What?" she grunts, stopping her work but not looking up.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I thought you needed company," Hiccup says. "I mean, it's true that I don't have anywhere else to go, but I _know_ that something happened to you in the city, and I just… I just didn't think that you should be alone with whatever you're doing now."

Astrid sighs, dropping the sword. The clatter rings out through the stables, and Hiccup winces.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "I'll go."

"You're right," she says.

Hiccup, who was making his way to leave, stills. Astrid looks up at him finally, and sees the boy clutching at a broom. She frowns, and almost feels bad for making him work for her like a servant.

"Something did happen," she says.

Hiccup says nothing and doesn't move. _This is what they mean by a 'listening face'_, Astrid thinks.

She stands up slowly, bending down to pick up her sword. Her fingers curl around the hilt and she brings it upward, her finger gliding gently across the blade. It cuts her skin, and thick red blood begins to ooze from her finger. She wipes it on her trousers. Then, all at once she lets out an almighty yell, twisting her wrist and slamming the blade into one of the supports that held up the stable roof. She yanks the sword away, leaving a large dent in the wood.

Hiccup takes a step back, his eyes wide. He's holding the broom out across him, as if it will somehow protect him. He still says nothing.

Astrid closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in and out, before opening them again and looking straight at Hiccup.

"I have to get my revenge."


	2. Chapter 2

The house is a nice one, Hiccup thinks. It's big and well furnished; housing everything the pair of them need to live comfortably. As far as he can tell, it's in the middle of nowhere, with no civilisation for miles. The area is surrounded by trees, and even in the hot sunlight the garden remains shaded and cool. Round the back of the house is a large pond, lilypads floating happily on top.

Astrid catches him looking at it and can't resist a quip. "Don't fall in," she tells him, her lips curled into a smirk.

"Ha, ha," Hiccup says, dryly.

It's a peaceful place, Hiccup decides. He likes it there. There's no one but them around and he enjoys the solitude, even if it is disturbed by Astrid's constant yelling. After the first day here, when he caught her throwing that sword around, he decided to give her some space. He tends to the garden and the farm, sowing seeds and watering plants, all while tuning her out. Sometimes he can't. There's something painful in her shouting, something angry.

He wants dearly to ask her what happened. He's wanted to ask that since she pulled him out of the lake, but he of all people understands her need for privacy.

The two of them sort of ignore each other. Or at least, she ignores him. After the first few days Hiccup abandons his attempts to make conversation, knowing that he will only receive grunts or monosyllabic answers from Astrid. Sometimes he watches her train, lingering at the front of the stable and pretending to clean while she shouts and throws her sword about. They eat meals together – but those are usually silent affairs, any comments that Hiccup makes met with shrugs or sighs.

All in all, Hiccup doesn't mind his new life here. He has food and a place to sleep – which is more than what he had in the week before he fell in the lake. He just wishes he knew what was going on with Astrid.

* * *

><p>The boy irritates her. She hates the way he just sort of looms; hanging around while she's trying to concentrate on her fighting moves. Most of the time, she doesn't bother to give him the time of day, hoping that he'll get the hint that she doesn't want to talk. Sometimes he gets on her last nerve, and her motions get even more vicious, the blade of her sword slashing into the wood without mercy. He'll then begin to get the point, or she's scared him off; either way it works to get him to just <em>go away<em>.

She gets frustrated. Can't he understand that she just doesn't want anyone else around her right now? She's already told him that enough times already. Sometimes she regrets saying that he can stay. Sometimes she considers telling him to leave, but she has the distinct feeling that he wouldn't go. The boy is as stubborn as she is, for goodness sake.

Two weeks pass before Astrid finally snaps. She's training in the stables as usual and she can just _feel _Hiccup hanging around behind her. She had not slept the night before and had woken up in a bad mood, and throwing her sword around was doing nothing to dissipate her anger. And now this boy was here again. She can feel the frustration creeping up her skin and her fingers curl harder around the hilt of her sword. She takes another swing at the wood, before whipping around and standing in front of Hiccup, her blade pointed towards his nose.

"What are you doing in here?" she hisses, her teeth clenched together, her eyes wild and angry.

"I…er…" Hiccup falters, his gaze fixed on the sword that was centimetres away from him.

"We were never friends," Astrid says. "We were barely acquaintances. We hardly knew each other. Why are you so insistent to hang around me now? Can't you understand that I just really want to be by myself right now?!"

Hiccup doesn't answer, still staring at the sword point, his eyes flickering up from the blade to Astrid and then back at the blade again. In that moment, a part of Astrid really wants to thrust the sword forward and inflict some damage. A part of her really wants to hurt this boy in front of her.

Hiccup seems to know this. His eyes wide and his hands are shaking. Even from where she stands, Astrid can see that he's breathing heavily, his heart clearly beating hard. Yet he doesn't move. He doesn't say anything.

Astrid sighs, a long deep sigh, and drops the sword. She can't hurt this boy. Not this skinny, freckle covered boy, who won't make any move to save himself. She closes her eyes and sighs again, wiping her hair out of her face and stumbling back to sit down on the stool at the back of the stable. Hiccup's still watching her.

"Sorry," she says.

Her elbows rest on her knees and she covers her face with her hands. Hiccup takes a couple of steps forward towards her, kneeling down in front of her.

"Astrid…?" he says, warily.

There is silence for a while. Astrid doesn't speak. She just breathes in and out into her hands. Hiccup reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder.

"His name was Drago."

"Huh?" Hiccup says.

"Drago," Astrid says. She swallows, before shifting her head up to look at Hiccup. "I was on lookout duty for the night. I wasn't the only one, but the others had other things to attend to, and I said that they could leave it to me."

Hiccup shifts right down so that he's sitting in front of her. His hand leaves her shoulder and his harms curl around his knees, looking up at her intently_. Listening face_, Astrid thinks.

"There was a man, and he strode up to the gates. He was big and wearing some kind of armour. He said his name was Drago. I told him that no strangers were allowed into the castle. He asked me how I thought I was going to stop him. I should have called for backup. It would have been easy. The bell was right there, by my hands, all I had to do was reach out and ring it, and the other soldiers would have come," she says.

When she breathes in her breath is shaky, like she's fighting every emotional impulse. She swallows once more, before beginning to speak again.

"I didn't sound the alarm. I told him that I could take him, so we fought right out there in front of the guardhouse. And I fought really hard, but I just couldn't beat him. He tossed me aside right there in the grass and I was winded and bleeding from all the punches and he just didn't seem to be hurt at all. He marched straight into the castle and inside he blew a horn that had been around his waist. Suddenly the air was filled with dragons, _armoured_ dragons, and they set buildings alight and they were roaring so loudly. When I got in there, the place was a wreck. The houses in the lower town were in flames and people were being killed. Including…" her voice falters and shakes for a minute, and she can't seem to get the words out.

She gives another sigh before speaking again. "Including my parents. I couldn't do anything about it. By the time the soldiers finally came from the castle, so much damage had already been done. Drago gave the order for the dragons to stop and he called out to everyone in the square and told them to beware, because this was only the tip of the iceberg, and we'd be heading for so much worse if we didn't submit to his will. Then he hopped onto one of the dragons and they flew away, leaving us with the destruction he had left."

Her head is bowed. Her eyes are fixed on her hands in her lap, and even though Hiccup's hand has found its way to her knee, a comforting gesture, she doesn't dare look at him.

"I was kicked out of the royal guard, because I didn't sound the alarm or call for help. If I had called for help, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. Maybe we could have stopped some of it, but I didn't call and now my parents and all those other people are dead," she says.

There's a lump in her throat, and no amount of swallowing will get it to go away. "I went from being one of the most revered soliders to being the most shamed. I had nowhere to go, my parents were dead, so I just… left. Started walking. Didn't really know where I was going. Then I remembered this place. And I knew that I had to come here, I had to come here and train and become the best fighter that there is," as she finishes her sentence, her voice turns hard and cold. "I have to do it. I have to kill Drago. I have to kill him because he killed my parents. I have to get my honour back."

Her speech is done. There is silence once more in the stable. She grips hard on the edge of the stool, her eyes squeezed shut as she forces herself to remain her stoic self and not reveal any of her emotion, but Hiccup has seen it. Hiccup can tell.

He moves his hands forward and links his fingers with hers, kneeling up so that they are looking right at each other.

"You know this isn't your fault, Astrid?" he says, speaking for the first time since she had begun her tale.

"It is," she says. "If I had just-"

"No," Hiccup says, cutting her off.

Astrid looks up, surprised at the force in Hiccup's voice.

"This isn't your fault, Astrid. Whether you had sounded the alarm or not, he would still have got into the castle. What happened would still have happened."

"But-"

Hiccup interrupts her again. "You didn't cause this. You weren't the one killing people. The blame lies with Drago, not with you."

He's looking right into his eyes and his gaze doesn't move. Astrid considers his words, looking straight back at him. Her eyes turn cold and stony once more.

"And that's why I've got to fight him. I've got to prove myself. I've got to do it for the people that he killed."

Her voice is sharp. Determined.

Hiccup stares at her face, seeing no hint of any hesitation. He can see the strength of her resolve in her eyes and he knows that this is her decision. This is what she wants.

So with equal determination, Hiccup nods.

"And I will help you."


	3. Chapter 3

"It's the dragons," Astrid says.

It's been another two weeks, and the two have settled into an easy rhythm. With Hiccup's help, Astrid's training becomes steadily smoother. Unlike before, she can feel herself getting better; she knows that her muscles are stronger and her technique is more refined. Also, she doesn't find the boy as annoying anymore. Now that she's told him what happened to her, he doesn't lurk around her anymore. He comes out, offering her help, solutions to her problems, fixing things for her. Somehow she begins to almost enjoy his company and she's only just realised how hard it was, trying to train herself up on her own.

Hiccup has made her a makeshift punch bag by rolling up a huge piece of cloth, tying a rope around it and slinging the rope over the rafters in the roof. Astrid has gone back to basics; moving from waving her sword around to punching the bag over and over again. Hiccup had made sure to wrap a slip of leather around her knuckles. He had insisted despite her protests, and even she had to admit that it had been a good idea.

Hiccup stands behind the punch bag and holds it still. He flinches every time Astrid's fist connects with the cloth, but he makes no complaint, not even when she punches too hard and he topples back under the weight of the material.

"They're too dangerous," she grunts, throwing another punch. "Dragons and humans don't mix."

She thrusts her arm forward again, but this time she moves more sluggishly, making little impact. She's breathing heavily, red in the face.

"Maybe it's time for a break," Hiccup suggests.

Astrid brushes off his comment. "I have to keep going."

Hiccup moves out from behind the punch bag, moving over to Astrid and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Astrid. Time for a break." His voice is soft but firm.

She wonders about ignoring him and throwing another punch, but she knows he's right and she's tired. So she nods, and drops to the floor, leaning against one of the stable walls. Hiccup has scurried off and now hurries back with a cup of water that he had filled up from the well. Astrid watches him and feels a little guilty. There's something about the way that he's always there, always anticipating what she needs and scampering off to get it for her before she's even asked. It reminds her of the princes and princesses that would pass through the castle, and the way the servants would follow them around and do everything for them. It makes her a little uncomfortable.

She accepts the cup gratefully, before looking him up and down.

"You don't have to do this, y'know," Astrid says as she gulps down the water.

"Do what?"

"Wait on me. Do everything for me. Have everything ready for me," she says.

Hiccup's face breaks into a smile. "I don't mind doing stuff for you, Astrid. I said I was going to help you, right?"

She nods. "I suppose. I just – I just don't… You're acting like my staff or something. I feel like I should be paying you."

Hiccup lets out a laugh, and somehow Astrid's unease seems to lift. There's something about the way his eyes open wide and he covers his mouth with his hand, letting out a light little sound.

"I like doing things for you. You don't need to pay me."

Astrid chews on her lip for a bit before her eyes flicker back up towards him again. "Seriously though, Hiccup. I can do things for myself. I'm sure there are things that you need to do. I guess – I guess I was wrong when I said that you had to work to live here."

Somehow she feels a little awkward. She feels as if there's something on the tip of her tongue that she wants to say to Hiccup, some words that she's not quite sure of. She's always been good at speaking her mind, but now that she wants to say something about how she feels, she's tongue tied. A part of her is urging her to say something nasty to the boy, to make some catty comment and distance herself from him. She forces herself to be quiet and she pretends to be very interested in her cup, still gulping down the water.

Hiccup looks at her for a moment before turning back and shuffling over to the stable door. Just as he's about to leave, he turns back to look at her.

"Just so you know," he says. "I'm not doing any of this because I feel like I have to. I like you, Astrid. You're my friend."

Astrid's head jolts up as he says that and she looks at him through narrowed eyes, searching for anything in him that would suggest that he was being sarcastic. But all she finds is Hiccup staring straight back at her, calm and still. She thinks for a moment, and then knows what she wants to say.

"I like you too."

Hiccup turns to leave, the smile on his face wider than ever.

"You're still annoying though!" Astrid calls after him, but there's a laugh in her voice and Hiccup can tell she's teasing.

His smile doesn't leave him for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days, it becomes clear that Hiccup's taken Astrid's words to heart. He still helps her train, of course, but he's not by her side every single second of the day. Astrid appreciates this. As much as she enjoys spending time around her new found friend, she has always enjoyed her time alone. She spends the time she has to herself reading the books she had found in her grandparent's old house. They're actually quite useful; she finds a manual on different sword techniques, some that she had never been taught.<p>

She's sitting by the pond reading that book when Hiccup appears from the trees, holding a tabby cat in his arms.

"Look what I found!" he says, his eyes shining and his hair in a mess.

Astrid gives a small smile, closing her book and standing up, reaching out a hand to stroke the cat.

"Can we keep her?" Hiccup says, holding up the cat and making puppy dog eyes at her.

Astrid shrugs. "We don't really need a cat," she mumbles.

But when she sees Hiccup's face, she changes her tune.

"So, what do you want to call her?"

The cat _is_ cute after all.

They have a training session scheduled in the afternoon, but both of them forget about it, too busy playing with the cat. Although it likes both of them – it played quite happily with the pair of them – it seems mostly taken with Hiccup. As afternoon turns to evening, it snuggles up onto Hiccup's lap, purring softly.

When Astrid realises that they were supposed to be training, she sits up suddenly, her mouth opening so that she can say something; panic about how they're going off schedule, shout at Hiccup for letting her relax… but then she stops. Hiccup is fast asleep, his head lolling back against the wall of the house. The cat is asleep too, and both cat and boy breathe steadily in sync. Astrid settles back down and closes her mouth.

She can stand letting herself relax for one day. Or so she thinks.

* * *

><p>The day after, Hiccup notices that she's throwing herself into their training sessions more vigorously. Although neither of them had said anything about their lapse the day before, both of them are working extra hard to make up for it.<p>

Astrid's back to using her sword, and it clatters against the pillars of the stables. She grits her teeth, the blade flying back and forth. The cat sensibly keeps her distance.

Hiccup knows something is wrong when he hears the yelling. Since Hiccup had begun to help her train, her yelling had gradually stopped. She no longer felt the need to scream when she made sword blows, choosing instead to be silent and making calmer and more calculated attacks. The anger is back.

"Astrid?" he says, hovering in front of the stable door. "Woah, woah, Astrid!"

He hurries forward and grabs hold of her arm, holding it still. She wrenches her arm away from him and slams the sword back into the wood. She doesn't acknowledge him; she just keeps yelling and slashing the stable pillar with her blade. He stands behind her and grabs hold of both of her wrists, holding on tight and refusing to let go.

"Astrid, stop!" he yells.

She quietens. Her limbs go limp.

When he's sure that she won't start thrashing around again, Hiccup lets go and pulls her back over to the stool at the back of the room.

"What's going on?" he says, his voice gentle.

Astrid's teeth are clenched together as she speaks. "We got too relaxed. We didn't do anything yesterday. We forgot about training."

"Yeah, but you've got to relax sometimes."

Astrid frowns, her fingers gripping onto the edge of the stool. Hiccup's seen this before.

"I don't have time to rest. I can't think about anything but Drago. I've been allowing myself to get distracted and it's going to be my downfall. My parents _died_, Hiccup, and I've been sitting here resting."

Hiccup sighs. Now he gets it.

He shifts down onto his knees, facing her so that they are on the same level. His hand snakes forward and he interlocks his fingers with hers. Her eyes open and they flicker up at Hiccup, slightly shocked at the sudden contact between them.

"Astrid, I promise you that whatever happens, you taking a break every now and then will not shame your parents. You're allowed to rest. If you train too hard, you're going to burn out and you'll never be able to get Drago," Hiccup says, his other hand moving up to Astrid's so that he's holding both. "Don't think about him. Think about you. Focus on making yourself the best you can. And you're not going to do that by not allowing yourself to rest every once in a while."

Astrid is still staring at him. For a moment, Hiccup thinks that she is going to lash out at him and start shouting. But she doesn't. A long time seems to pass and then Astrid nods.

"Okay."

Hiccup smiles. "So, I'm going to put the punch bag back up and we'll do that for about an hour or so before taking a break, okay?"

He's already darting out the stable door, without even waiting for an answer. Astrid watches him go, vaguely stunned.

And then she smiles.

"Okay."


End file.
